Alice in Wonderland is More Popular Than Ever ? From Mad Hatter Tea Sets to a New Disney Movie

The old classic tale from Lewis Carroll, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is getting more and more popular these days. The story is still appealing to children and adults alike even though it was first written in 1864. Alice in Wonderland is not just any ordinary child fiction. This classic story is full of philosophy and truisms. The absurdity of the plot is enthralling and this is why it has such a great fan base all over the world.

Young children love it because of curious characters and the feeling of adventure. But teenagers and young adults are looking for the darker side of Alice. They find alternative and deeper meanings in this story, which make young adults even more curious about the eccentric Wonderland.

Alice in Wonderland has thousands of fans who gather in discussion forums and blogs to ponder upon the storyline and the odd characters. Many are making their own films and plays adding their own interpretations along the way. The story has found its way into the hearts of countless people and it has triggered their interest to research the life of its writer Lewis Carroll as well as his other publications and writings. Others have put their devotion into collecting Alice merchandise and paraphernalia. Alice has inspired a restaurant décor in Tokyo and a tourist attraction centre in the UK. 

Certainly the new film of Alice in Wonderland, a new Disney production which will be directed by Tim Burton, is adding its buzz to the popularity of the story. Truly there must be something extra special in the story because it attracts many Hollywood stars including Johnny Depp to the extent that they will jump to the opportunity of being part of the film cast.

The hype around Alice seems to be ever increasing and diversifying. Soon there will be no child in the western world that hasn’t had a chance to enjoy Alice in Wonderland in one form or another.

Source : Ezinearticles.com

Top 10 Quotes and Explanations from Alice in Wonderland

Alice in Wonderland is a tale from Lewis Carroll who wrote it in 1864. The story has been such a huge success ever since and many movies and plays have been made based on it. This fairytale continues to have a great fan base. Its popularity is only increasing with big Hollywood directors and stars making yet another adaptation of the story. This time it will be directed by Tim Burton and Johnny Depp will be the outrageous character called the Mad Hatter.

The conversations between the incredible characters, which include people, animals and playing cards, are eccentric and funny.  Some of their phrases have become extremely famous, some of them are considered absurd and some are clearly making fun of the Victorian era.

Here are the top 10 quotes with explanations where in the story they appear. They are in descending order beginning from number 10 and going to number one, the most famous quote of all.

Number 10 spot is given to Eaglet:

Alice and many animals and birds along with a Duck,  Dodo,  Lory and Eaglet swam from a lake that was actually a pool of Alice’s tears.  While at the shore they were discussing how to get dry.  Dodo was talking in business terms about adjourning the meeting and adopting more energetic remedies. To this Eaglet called out this quoted sentence:

“Speak English! I don’t know the meaning of half those long words, and I don’t believe you do either!” -Eaglet

Number 9 is a quote from Alice herself.

This takes place during the court scene. Alice argues with the Queen of Hearts about the order of a verdict and a sentence, and then Alice realizes that she is her normal size again and does not need to care what the Queen says. This is why she yells out:

“You’re nothing but a pack of cards!” -Alice

Number 8 is from the Duchess during the game of croquet after she is released from prison to take part in the game. Alice is quietly thinking about how pepper and other spices affect people.

The Duchess is trying to remember what kind of a moral there is in thinking and not speaking. Alice thinks that there is no moral in it. Therefore the Duchess teaches Alice that:

“Everything’s got a moral, if only you can find it.” -The Duchess

Number 7 is a quote from the Mock Turtle. He, the Gryphon and Alice are at the sea shore. Alice tells them about her adventures of the day and how she was repeating a poem to the Caterpillar and how the words came out all wrong. The Gryphon is very interested and asks Alice to repeat a poem called “‘TIS THE VOICE OF THE SLUGGARD”‘.  Of course the words come out all different again. This is what the Mock Turtle calls it:

“Well, I never heard it before, but it sounds uncommon nonsense.” -The Mock Turtle

At  number 6 is a quote from the White Rabbit. Alice follows the White Rabbit into the rabbit hole and finds herself in a long corridor. She sees the White Rabbit hurrying down the passage. Alice sprints after him just in time to hear the White Rabbit say:

“Oh my ears and whiskers, how late it’s getting!” -White Rabbit

This quote is actually made very famous by Disney Films. They adapted the quote into a song by White Rabbit:  ”I’m late, I’m late, I’m late, for a very important date!”

Number 5 place is given to a famous quote from the Queen of Hearts. She uses this expression quite often in the story. One time is when Alice meets the Queen for the first time. After Alice has introduced herself, the Queen asks her about the three playing card gardeners lying on the ground. But because Alice does not know them and expresses that to the Queen quite casually, the Queen of Hearts gets furious and screams to Alice:

“Off with her head!” -Queen of Hearts

At number 4 is a quote from the King of Hearts. This happens at the hearing in court while the King asks the White Rabbit to read a set of verses in a letter, written by the prisoner to somebody. The White Rabbit does not know where to begin.

“Begin at the beginning and go on till you come to the end: then stop.” -The King

On the third spot is quite an odd question by the Mad Hatter.

Alice is at the March Hare’s house and the Mad Hatter is there with Dormouse as well. They are having a tea party. The March Hare and Alice get into an argument about Alice’s right to join the tea party. Then the Mad Hatter makes Alice even more furious by telling her she needs a haircut. Of course Alice declares that to be rude, but the Mad Hatter answers her with a riddle:

“Why is a raven like a writing desk?” -The Mad Hatter

Here we are, getting closer to the best quotes of them all. At number 2 position is a short and famous exclamation from Alice.

Alice eats a cake and expects something peculiar to happen to her. And finally her neck grows and grows so much that in the end she does not even see her own feet. Alice is so surprised that for a moment she forgets to speak good English and cries out:

“Curiouser and curiouser.” -Alice

Finally, number one, the most famous Alice in Wonderland quote.

This quote comes from a conversation between Cheshire Cat and Alice. The grinning Cheshire Cat is giving directions to Alice and tells what sort of people live in each direction in the woods.

Then he discloses as a matter of fact that:

“We’re all mad here.” -Cheshire Cat

How would you describe this adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice in Wonderland”?

This is “Alice in Wonderland” 10 years later. The story isn’t the same. And in re-reading the book in preparation for the film, I noticed that a lot of it is Alice trying to figure out who she isn’t by process of elimination. She knows that she isn’t all the things that people are saying that she is, and so, by going through all of them, she gets a better idea of what she is. And in the Tim Burton “Alice in Wonderland,” Alice is trying to name who she is without using the process of elimination in a similar way. There’s a great line in it, where someone says, “You seem like Alice, but you’ve lost your much-ness.” That’s my favorite line. So I think if the book is about Alice exploring her imagination, this one is about Alice finding her soul.

What can you say about Helena Bonham Carter as the Red Queen?

Helena Bonham Carter, in addition to being one of the most brilliant women I’ve ever had the pleasure to talk to, is so much fun as the Red Queen. She has so much energy that she gives to it. And her characterization is so lovely and demanding, not child-like but childish, and selfish and impossible to please. Then, at other times, she’s really vulnerable and sad, because this person is going to be lonely forever, because she’s just so darn selfish. She’s endlessly entertaining in the role. Her look and the dedication that it takes—three, four hours to get into that hair and makeup.

Anna Hathaway said “I think I’ve got really weird features,” she told InStyle. “I have very large features on a very small head.

“But, you know, I’m not going to beat myself up. It’s my face. I’m not very pretty. But that’s OK because I do know that I look like myself, and I think at the end of the day, as nice as pretty is, authenticity is more important.”

The girl must be the real deal — she managed to springbaord from being the chick in Disney’s Princess Diaries to being a fashion muse getting roles in stuff like Alice In Wonderland with Johnny Depp. But she says she feels out of her depth when acting with massive stars like Johnny, and Meryl Streep to name a couple.

Not bad for a girl who started getting her boobs out in an attempt to de-Disney-fy herself!

“I owe so much of my career to luck,” she said. “My mother always told me that luck is preparation meets opportunity and I’ve been given extraordinary opportunities to work with filmmakers long before I was talented enough and deserved to work with them.

“I’ve learned a lot from them. I just keep getting hired. I consider myself lucky and I don’t know who is responsible for it.”

Source : Msn

Instead, the 27-year-old, who plays the White Queen in Alice In Wonderland, was rocketed to fame and fortune by a break-out acting performance in a movie with Meryl Streep.

Hathaway confided to a magazine: ‘I thought I was going to be waitressing and have tons of student loans. I’m thrilled. Right now, I just feel like I’m in a glorified acting program. I get to learn drama from Meryl Streep, then I get to run around and learn comedy from Steve Carell. It’s kind of insane.’

Hathaway played a magazine intern and ingenue in The Devil Wears Prada alongside Streep in 2006.

She said:’Acting really, really is the only thing I’m interested in doing. Even if I was acting in a church basement theatre for the rest of my life, I would still enjoy it.’

Source : Monstersandcritics